David Artell: Crewe manager says squad must 'want' to avoid relegation
- Published
David Artell (centre) has been at Crewe for five years and won promotion into League One in 2019-20
Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell says his squad must "want" to survive in League One despite relegation looking inevitable.
The Alex are bottom of the table, 13 points from safety with five games remaining.
Crewe could be relegated to League Two after Saturday's trip to Doncaster if results go against them.
"How much do they [the players] want to win games of football for the fans?" Artell told BBC Radio Stoke.
Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at MK Dons was Crewe's 14th in the past 15 games with their last win - 2-1 at Cheltenham in February - one of only two victories this year.
"We had a chat in the dressing room afterwards and for the first time in a long while there was something back from the players - that was good and healthy," Artell said.
"It's not easy. You find out in times like this the true test of character. If you want to test character, be on the run we're on."
Artell said he has no complaints about the attitude of his squad, but says they need to make sure it's right every single game from hereon in.
"We've got to have that from all 11 - or all 14 - every single day.
"It's easy when you're winning to stay out on the training pitch for an extra 20 minutes but you've got to do that now - all those extra little bits add up."
Crewe travel to Doncaster at the weekend knowing wins for Morecambe and Fleetwood - both on 38 points in the final two safe places - would relegate them back to League Two regardless of what they do at Eco-Power Stadium.
Only bettering the pair's results would keep the Alex's survival hopes intact.
"You've got to ask yourself are you still trying to get better, or just surviving and accepting what the situation is - you've got to want to get out of this," Artell said.
"Talk's cheap, it's about actions. I'm not just throwing this on the players, I'm on about all of us.
"I thought we showed commitment - you don't score a last-minute goal against MK Dons without being committed.
"Just winning one [game] will do at the minute. It's no good saying we've got to win two, three, four, five - we've got to win one and that starts on Saturday."
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